By Grocery List Plus Editorial Staff | Published on June 11, 2026
Serves 6
643 cal · 360 min
Beef Stew with Bacon
Recipe GLPRcf8168677e15bb
A hearty, slow-cooked beef stew featuring tender chunks of beef chuck browned with bacon, simmered with mushrooms, carrots, pearl onions, and garlic in a rich red wine and beef broth sauce. The stew develops deep, savory flavors over hours of gentle cooking, resulting in melt-in-your-mouth beef and a thickened gravy enhanced with tomato paste and fresh rosemary.
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Ingredients
4 oz. thick-cut bacon, chopped
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
3 lb. boneless beef chuck, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
3/4 lb. fresh cremini mushrooms, halved if large
1/2 lb. baby carrots
1/2 lb. frozen pearl onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dry red wine
1 cup beef broth
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. minced fresh rosemary
Directions
In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the chopped bacon, stirring occasionally, until crisp and browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer the bacon to paper towels to drain. Pour off the fat drippings into a small bowl, leaving about 1 Tbsp. in the pan for browning the beef. Set the bacon and reserved drippings aside.
In a sealable plastic bag, combine the flour, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Add the beef chunks and shake the bag until all pieces are evenly coated with the flour mixture.
Return the skillet to medium-high heat. When the bacon drippings are hot, add half of the flour-coated beef chunks in a single layer. Do not stir for about 5 minutes to allow a brown crust to form, then turn and cook the other side for about 5 minutes more until well browned. Transfer the browned beef to a slow cooker. Repeat with the remaining beef chunks, adding more reserved drippings if needed to prevent sticking.
Add the halved mushrooms, baby carrots, pearl onions, and minced garlic to the slow cooker on top of the beef.
Return the skillet to medium-high heat and pour in the red wine and beef broth. Stir in the tomato paste until well combined. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring occasionally to deglaze the pan and scrape up all the flavorful brown bits stuck to the bottom. Pour the entire contents over the beef and vegetables in the slow cooker.
Cover the slow cooker and cook on high heat for 4 to 5 hours, or on low heat for 8 to 9 hours, until the beef is very tender and easily breaks apart with a fork.
Stir in the reserved bacon and the minced fresh rosemary. Cover and cook on the high-heat setting for 10 minutes more to allow the flavors to blend and the sauce to thicken slightly.
Taste the stew and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot in bowls.
Comments
This is a solid Charlotte winter dish with excellent ingredient availability—everything from bacon to beef chuck to cremini mushrooms sits on shelves at Harris Teeter, Food Lion, Kroger, Walmart, or ALDI without a second trip. Cost runs roughly $12–14 for six servings (about $2–2.30 per serving), driven mainly by the beef chuck and red wine, though both are reasonably priced at any major local chain. The stated 360 minutes is honest for a low-and-slow braise; this is genuinely a same-day project that demands little active attention once browned and simmered, making it practical for a weeknight if started early. Leftovers reheat beautifully and taste better the next day, but pearl onions and cremini mushrooms are not especially seasonal to North Carolina, and the recipe lacks local personality—it would work just as well in New England or the Midwest, which is a small miss for a regional reader.
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